Wedding Photography - Techniques and Fundamentals
Wedding photography is an explicit side to the event photography genre. It has its own unique approach and it is perhaps the most demanding form of photography in terms of preparation and improvisation.
When shooting a wedding, you're not just capturing moments in time - you're telling a story. The bride and groom will be using your photographs as a way to remember one of the happiest days of their lives, so the importance of taking chronological shots as well as coming up with the right composition cannot possibly be stressed enough. Again, preparation here is crucial, so let's break down the "pre-game" into a step-by-step process.
Planning for the Unexpected
Every good photographer should have a backup plan for any occasion. Don't think you'll be needing your flash? Bring it anyway. Feeling confident that your camera won't cause you any issues? Pack a second camera regardless. What about film, storage cards and batteries? Extra lenses? A backup tripod?
Better yet, simply answer this question: Are you absolutely certain that you will prepared to handle any unexpected changes that occur throughout the day? It's not uncommon for a photographer to forget something that would have saved them a lot grief later in the night and the last thing you want to do is to turn the most important day of the couple that is employing you into a disaster.
The best way to ensure that you are well-packed is to make a checklist of everything you'll need and then prepare accordingly. Consider bringing a small notebook so you can write down anything you may forget later.
Scoping Out the Venue
Don't ever dive head first into the scene without having a real game plan. You should make a minimum of one visit to the venue prior to the actual event so you can get a good "feel" for the environment and the lighting situation. You can also take this time to talk with the clergyman or other staff members to find out if there are any rules or restrictions that need to be adhered to during the wedding.
Furthermore, make sure that you have a precise understanding of the seating arrangements and the flow of the event. When exactly is the couple arriving? When is the first dance? Does the couple want you to take shots of family members as they are arriving? While being a keen improviser is important, it is far more convenient to have a refined plan, so make sure your time tables are in the right order.
After you're done familiarizing yourself with the venue and you know what kind of lighting you'll be dealing with, you can start to plan out your composition. This is where the technical aspect comes into play.
Putting the Pieces Together
Now that you know what you're up against, it's time to equip yourself with the proper elements. In terms of your composition, you should treat wedding photography as an interior shooting process, even if you're outdoors. Since your frame will be more focused on substance rather than the combination of a foreground and background, you will more than likely want to use a wide-angle zoom lens.
Although the occasions in which you will want to switch to a longer lens are few in numbers, you should know beforehand which scenes will require a swap so you're not fumbling around in the heat of the moment. Also, you may end up taking several photos of large portions of the venue, so be ready to apply some techniques for shooting architecture from time to time.
In case you hadn't already figured it out, this implies that an SLR camera is much more favorable than a compact device. Switching between lenses with an SLR camera is extremely simple and once you gain some experience, you'll find that it comes to you quite naturally.
Making the Switch
Before I cover the fundamentals of adapting your shots to light, allow me to say this first: During the wedding, you should always know what settings need to be changed for every shot of the venue. If you have to spend even a few seconds experimenting with your settings before taking a shot, you will severely compromise not only the quality of the photograph, but also the actual moment you are trying to capture. This is why it is so important that you scope out the venue before the wedding.
If you know you're about to start taking shots of people dancing, you should be changing your settings (knowing exactly what they need to be) as you are walking towards the dance floor. When taking outside shots of arriving guests and then moving into the church for the start of the ceremony, the transition could be spontaneous and you must be ready to adjust your settings like a true expert. You shouldn't be reserving any extra moments for these changes - we've already established that the time for preparation is before the wedding, not during.
So, with that being said, let's break down the fundamentals of adjusting to light during wedding photography:
Shutter speed: For most indoor areas, you will want your shutter speed to be slower. The slower your shutter moves, the more light you will acquire during the shot. For outdoor shooting, you may need to increase the speed so your photographs aren't overexposed.
ISO: After doing plenty of research and gaining my own personal experience, I've come to the conclusion that a higher ISO is ideal for most of these situations. The majority of indoor weddings are done in buildings with high ceilings, which means that you will need a higher ISO setting to capture more light. Even better, the latest advancements in camera technology have made it so keeping your ISO high will allow for more conservation of flash battery power. However, different factors can come into play here - if you're outside where there is already plenty of light or perhaps the interior space you are shooting has low ceilings, you will most likely need to lower your ISO to compensate for the extra light.
Aperture: In wedding photography, keeping everything in clear focus is very important. Therefore, your Depth of Field must be kept as balanced as possible by using a smaller aperture (larger F-stop). If you encounter a situation in which there is not enough light, then you may need to switch to a smaller F-stop. Usually, this can be avoided if your other settings are properly established.
How Much Exposure Do You Really Need?
In most genres of photography, longer exposure is often recommended. However, exposure is less important in wedding photography mainly because your shots are more focused on brief moments in time. You may need to increase your exposure for portrait shots, but you shouldn't extend it for much longer.
Either way, you should always have one tripod available. It's very common to have guests approach you asking if you could photograph them and a tripod can make these kinds of shots very easy and fast. Depending on the regulations of the wedding event, staging a tripod at a particular location can come in handy as well - it can help you remember certain locations that you want to shoot or you could "reserve" your own area for taking photographs of people upon request.
The Importance of Telling a Story
As I said earlier in the article, you must be prepared to capture events in chronological order. When a bride and groom hires you as their wedding photographer, they are paying you to chronicle the story of the most important day of their lives. Most wedding albums are used to go back in time and remember these events in the order that they happened, so it is imperative that you draw out a precise order of shots that need to be taken.
The best way to go about this is to make a list of priority shots and another list for secondary shots. You may want to capture friends and family getting situated outside the church, but you can't possibly miss the arrival of the bride and groom! Photographers who have their time tables well-established before the wedding day are the ones who are most likely to prosper, so put in as much effort as you possibly can to stay organized.
The Post-Production
Editing your photos in order to make a finalized product is a completely separate task on its own. Exactly what type of editing will need to be done is, once again, largely dependent on the expectations of the bride and groom. Many couples elect to have DVD's or web galleries made so they can share their experience with family and friends. Being an avid PhotoShop user here is important, so you will need to invest a substantial amount of time in gaining experience with the post-production process of wedding photography as well.